BROOKINGS – Third-ranked South Dakota State takes on Montana State in its home opener today at 6 p.m. at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium.
The Dairy Drive game will air live on Midco Sports Network.
“They’re a good football team,” said SDSU coach John Stiegelmeier. “They have a somewhat unique offense in the sense that they run kind of a Wildcat – their starting running back from last year is starting at quarterback for them, but he does throw the ball. He threw the ball 21 times, ran the ball 24 times (against Western Illinois); so it all revolves around the quarterback.”
Sophomore Troy Andersen (6-foot-3, 215 pounds) made his first career start at QB in a 26-23 home win over Western Illinois last Thursday.
He ran 24 times for 145 yards and two touchdowns while going 12-of-21 for 81 yards with an interception through the air.
Andersen picked up 515 yards on 90 rushes and scored six total TDs as a freshman.
Tristan Bailey kicked a pair of fourth-quarter field goals, including the game-winner from 35 yards out with 4:02 remaining, against the Leathernecks. His 50-yard boot with 8:26 left knotted the score at 23-all.
Kevin Kassis had three kick returns for 116 yards and two punt returns for 36 yards. He added five receptions covering 33 yards.
Defensive end Bryce Sterk recorded two of the Bobcats’ four sacks as he totaled eight tackles, including four for loss. Linebacker Walker Cozzie made a game-high nine stops. Safeties Jahque Alleyne and Brayden Konkol both picked off a pass.
WIU outgained MSU 317-239 in total yards of offense. The Bobcats finished plus-one in turnover margin.
South Dakota State’s game against Iowa State last week in Ames, Iowa, was cancelled due to thunderstorms.
“I would say in the history of college sports, the weather is undefeated,” Stiegelmeier said with a chuckle. “And the weather won on Saturday night. There was nothing that could have been done differently. The unique thing was we were there all day – it’s a beautiful day – and then when you go to play you have the weather. But you can’t change game times. So anyway, it was frustrating and I’m glad everybody was safe.”
The Jackrabbits now have a 10-game regular season.
“I told the guys it narrows our focus; we have one less opportunity to get a win so every game is that much more important, which makes every practice that much more important,” added Stiegelmeier. “And especially for the seniors, who lost a game; we have to try to add one (a playoff game) at the end so they at least have a minimum of 11.”
The Jackrabbits trailed the Cyclones 7-0 with 10:55 remaining in the first quarter when play was halted.
Is it a big deal that Montana State has a game under its belt and SDSU does not?
“I think there are advantages both ways,” said Stiegelmeier. “We didn’t have anybody get hurt playing a full game – not that we would have – and they have a guy that’s hurt, at least one of them.
“The experience of playing is huge, we would love to have that. But we did get the experience of warming up and the energy and the butterflies and stuff; that’s a huge part of getting ready to play, so that was really good.”
South Dakota State has won the past two meetings with Montana State, including a 31-27 triumph on Sept. 9, 2017, in Bozeman, Mont.
The Bobcats went 5-6 last year, finishing in a tie for sixth in the Big Sky Conference standings with a 5-3 mark.
Dairy Drive
The Jackrabbits are 4-0 in Dairy Drive games.
Sept. 6, 2014 – SDSU 44, Cal Pol 18
Sept. 12, 2015 – SDSU 55, Southern Utah 10
Nov. 5, 2016 – SDSU 49, Missouri St. 24
Aug. 31, 2017 – SDSU 51, Duquesne 13
Sept. 8, 2018 – SDSU vs. Montana State
Injury report
SDSU starting defensive end Elijah Wilson is still out due to an injury.
Missouri Valley Football Conference
MVFC Overall
STATS/Coaches W-L PF/PA W-L PF/PA Strk
1/1 North Dakota State 0-0 0/0 1-0 49-3 W7
19/19 Illinois State 0-0 0/0 1-0 46-0 W1
Southern Illinois 0-0 0/0 1-0 49/10 W1
Indiana State 0-0 0/0 1-0 49/0 W1
Missouri State 0-0 0/0 1-1 69/82 W1
3/3 South Dakota State 0-0 0/0 0-0 0/0 L1
21/18 Northern Iowa 0-0 0/0 0-1 23-26 L2
Youngstown State 0-0 0/0 0-1 21-23 L1
23/— South Dakota 0-0 0/0 0-1 24/27 L2
Western Illinois 0-0 0/0 0-1 23/26 L2
Notes: The following matchups will not take place in 2018: SDSU-WIU, NDSU-InSU, UNI-SIU, YSU-MSU and IlSU-USD. … USD (26th) is receiving votes in the Coaches poll. YSU (t43rd/37th) is receiving votes in both polls. WIU (t38th) and SIU (t50th) are receiving votes in the STATS poll. … The MVFC is 4-5 in nonconference games, including a 2-3 mark versus FCS schools and an 0-2 record against FBS teams. … The Big Sky leads the Big Sky-MVFC Challenge Series 2-1, with two games being contested today.
## Big Sky-MVFC Challenge Series game
WEEK 2
Thursday, Sept. 6
Missouri State 52, Lincoln Mo. 24
Saturday, Sept. 8
## Northern Colorado (0-1, 0-0 Big Sky) at South Dakota, Vermillion, 2 p.m.
Southern Illinois at Ole Miss (1-0, 0-0 SEC West; FBS), Oxford, Miss., 3 p.m.
Youngstown State at West Virginia (1-0, 0-0 Big 12; No. 14 FBS), Morgantown, W. Va., 5 p.m.
## Montana State (1-0, 0-0 Big Sky) at South Dakota State, Brookings, 6 p.m. [Dairy Drive]
Indiana State at Louisville (0-1, 0-0 ACC Atlantic; FBS), Louisville, Ky., 6 p.m.
Eastern Illinois (0-1, 0-0 OVC) at Illinois State, Normal, Ill., 6:30 p.m.
Western Illinois at Illinois (1-0, 0-0 Big Ten West; FBS), Champaign, Ill., 6:30 p.m.
Notable games
North Dakota at Washington (0-1 0-0 Pac-12 North; FBS No. 9), Seattle, Wash., 4 p.m.
Iowa State (0-0, 0-0 Big 12; FBS) at Iowa (1-0, 0-0 Big Ten West; FBS), Iowa City, Iowa, 4 p.m.
Cumberland University Tenn. (1-1, 0-0 Mid-South; NAIA) at Arkansas-Pine Bluff (0-1, 0-0 SWAC), Pine Bluff, Ark., 6 p.m.
Open: NDSU, YSU.
